Getting fed up with replacing batteries in my kitchen clock. Does anyone know of any device or kit to get it to run off the mains ? The battery is AA 1.5 volt. I have lots of ex phone chargers but would need to know how to bring the volts down.
Electric clock
- Thread starter kbultray
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It sounds as if you need a new clock or better batteries. The AA battery in my kitchen clock (and other clocks around the house) generally lasts at least 5 years. It would IMO be silly to resort to trying to run it off the mains.
Kind Regards, John
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Yes but it's not the getting of a power supply which is the problem it is getting that supply to the clock. I also have one which has a pendulum and gets through batteries rather fast but the problem of getting power to the clock means real cure is to bin the clock and get one where the batteries last a reasonable time.
With a carriage clock I used a USB battery charger to both hold the battery and power the clock and simply plugged it into a 5 volt USB charger it works well but it's position is where cables can't be seen.
In the main cure is to buy another clock. I have three wall clocks two the batteries last well over a year each and one needs a battery every month or two so clearly the clock is at fault.
With a carriage clock I used a USB battery charger to both hold the battery and power the clock and simply plugged it into a 5 volt USB charger it works well but it's position is where cables can't be seen.
In the main cure is to buy another clock. I have three wall clocks two the batteries last well over a year each and one needs a battery every month or two so clearly the clock is at fault.
What they both said.
I've got 4 battery powered clocks, and whilst I wouldn't like to say the batteries last 5 years, they certainly last long enough for me to have no idea how long they last. If that makes sense.
I've got 4 battery powered clocks, and whilst I wouldn't like to say the batteries last 5 years, they certainly last long enough for me to have no idea how long they last. If that makes sense.
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Same here really, I suppose. Although I said "at least 5 years", I suppose the truth is that I don't really know with greater precision than to know that it certainly is 'years'. One way I know is that one of them is in a very difficult-to-access place, and it really is 'years' since I last had to confront the mission of dealing with that problem!
Having said all that, if (like at least one of eric's) the clock has a pendulum, then that's clearly a much more significant drain on a battery than a standard 'clock module', so I wouldn't necessarily expect batteries to last too long in one of those.
Kind Regards, John
Make the pendulum long enough and no batteries are needed.
Only if one replaces the battery with a wind-up spring or weight or suchlike - unless you believe in perpetual motion! However, we could be talking about a pendulum which is 'cosmetic', rather than functional, hence just a guzzler of battery (or whatever) power.
Kind Regards, John
Alternatively, if you've space inside the clock casing fit a battery holder for a D or C cell and connect this into the AA holder. Then the battery might outlive the clock.
True - but there certainly would not be space enough to do that in any of the battery clocks I have, so I suspect it would be a common problem.
Kind Regards, John
In theory you can have perpetual motion (but not free energy, over-unity malarkey etc)
No - just a restart now and then. Oh, and I'll also need a near-perfect vacuum and near-zero friction bearings to minimise the number of restarts.
Most of mine have bodies around 30cm diameter, a corresponding depth (i.e. not one which appears exceptionally either slim or deep), and contain a mechanism only a few cm square. I've never looked and measured to see if it could be done, but subject to that disclaimer I think C-cells, at least, could be housed.
Quite so!
Mine are also 20-30cm diameter. However, most, if not all, of them are solid wood, with the (small) mechanism recessed into it (almost flush). I therefore think that, in most cases, at the least I'd probably have to take a router to them to create enough space to accommodate a larger battery. However, given that they really do last 'for years', there is little/no incentive to take such steps. I've also got a couple of diddy ones, one which has an AAA battery and the other a baby button cell - and both of them seem to last a long time between battery changes.
Kind Regards, John
Or several AA cells in parallel.
Good point.
I was given a 'potato clock' at Christmas (two different metal strips; supply your own potato).
Not a bad idea. Potatoes are cheaper than batteries!
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